FBI figures show 15% drop in violent crime in 2024

During the first quarter of 2024, there’s also been a 13% drop in aggravated assault, according to the FBI. Murder and rape both decreased by about 26%. Robbery decreased by 18% and property crime declined 15%.

Statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday show that violent crime has dropped considerably during the first few months of 2024. 

During the first quarter of the year, there has been a 15% drop in violent crime overall, including a 13% drop in aggravated assault. Murder and rape both decreased by about 26%. Robbery decreased by 18% and property crime declined 15%. 

Other serious crime dipped in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, as well. 

The dramatic declines come after a pandemic-era surge in violent crime—one the Biden administration made a priority to address. 

“When I became attorney general over three years ago, we knew that grappling with the violent crime that surged early in the pandemic would be one of the greatest challenges we would face at the Justice Department,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a release alongside the crime report. “That is why we have poured every available resource into working with our law enforcement and community partners to drive down violent crime.”

“This progress we’re seeing is no accident,” President Biden added in a statement. “My administration is putting more cops on the beat, holding violent criminals accountable, and getting illegal guns off the street — and we are doing it in partnership with communities. As a result, Americans are safer today than when I took office.” 

In his statement, the president specifically highlighted his Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which represented “the most significant gun violence legislation in nearly 30 years.”

Biden has also issued dozens of executive actions to try and keep dangerous weapons and repeat shooters off the streets, hold rogue gun dealers and gun traffickers accountable, and more. 

For example, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives published a rule in April to reduce the number of guns sold without background checks.

The Biden administration also created the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to help address the systemic issue of gun violence in America. Additionally, the president has called on Congress to pass his Safer America Plan, which would invest in gun violence prevention and intervention, as well as modernize technology and data systems to ensure that the justice system runs efficiently and with the most current data. 

Still, Garland and the president noted that there is more work to be done. 

“I will continue fighting for funding for 100,000 additional police officers, and crime prevention and community violence intervention programs,” Biden said. “Every American deserves to feel safe in their community — which is why I will continue to invest in public safety.”